It looks like state Sen. Kevin Parker will put his dukes up once again — but this time, it’ll be in court.
Felony assault charges from last year’s attack on a New York Post photographer continue to loom over the Flatbush Democrat’s head, and the District Attorney’s office says that it’s unlikely that the case will be settled with a plea deal favorable to the lawmaker.
If Parker wants to keep his job, he’s going to have to be acquitted at trial, a source in the DA’s office said.
“We’re not going to accept a plea from Kevin Parker unless it includes some jail time,” the source explained.
If that’s the case, then Parker will have no choice but to go to the mattresses. If he pleads out to the felony charge, state law dictates that he loses his job in the legislature.
Even if he managed to plead guilty to a misdemeanor charge, he would likely face the same Senate tribunal that drummed Hiram Monserrate (D-Queens) out of the hall earlier this year.
Parker was indicted on a felony charge of assault in the second degree for his confrontation with William Lopez, the shutterbug assigned to take a photo of Parker outside his Avenue H home last May.
At the time, the Post was doing a story about how Parker let his home fall into foreclosure.
The seven-year legislator is charged with chasing Lopez in a fit of rage, pursuing him around the corner to the photographer’s car. In the ensuing struggle, Parker broke the lensman’s flash. He also kicked out the interior door panel to Lopez’s 1998 Subaru Forester. Lopez reportedly suffered a swollen middle finger during the clash.
The attack was one of three explosions of anger connected to Parker over the years.
In 2005, he was arrested for punching a traffic enforcement agent giving him a ticket. The charges were ultimately dropped when Parker agreed to undergo anger management counseling. He was also accused of — but never charged with — roughing up a female aide last year.
If convicted of the felony assault charge, he faces up to seven years in prison.
Parker’s attorney Lonnie Hart Jr. said our DA source was “not entirely accurate.”
“I think a trial is a little bit premature at this point,” he said, adding that he is currently moving to have a judge review the grand jury minutes to see if the DA’s claims were legally sufficient to sustain the indictment.
Parker is due back in court on April 2.
